Spolchemie plans options for hydrogen by-product

Czech chemicals company Spolchemie is looking at alternatives for the use of the hydrogen it generates as a by-product of chlorine production, said the company.

The by-product is currently used to drive steam-turbine generators. A feasibility study carried out for Spolchemie by German engineer Bilifinger looked at options to use the hydrogen in applications in mobility: buses, trains, and cars.

The hydrogen by-product can be cleaned, cooled and compressed for onwards transportation by road, rail or pipeline. Considering a capacity of up to 2,000 tonnes/year of hydrogen, the feasibility study analyzed ways to transport these large amounts to Prague and Bratislava, using composite vessels, with a first project expected to be realised in 2025.

“As our many innovations, investments and efficiency improvements show, we take our environmental responsibility seriously and this includes using our by-products to increase for example sustainable mobility,” said Daniel Tamchyna, CEO of Spolchemie.

We remind, AOC, Kaprain and Spolchemie announce they have reached agreement on AOC acquiring the Unsaturated Polyester Resin (UPR) manufacturing operations located at the Spolchemie site in Usti nad Labem (Czech Republic).

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French plastic packaging products company IPACKCHEM has acquired a majority stake in TPG Plastics, said the company.

With the deal, IPACKCHEM plans to produce its in-mould fluorination barrier packaging products at TPG's plant in Murray, Kentucky. “This transaction is an important step for IPACKCHEM to deliver on our promise to serve our international customers from a truly global manufacturing footprint,” said JP Morvan, the company's founder and CEO.

“We plan to supply the North American crop protection market as of the 2023-2024 season, while continuing to expand TPG’s existing customer base,” the CEO said. Financial details were not disclosed.

We remind, SK Capital Partners, LP, a private investment firm focused on the specialty materials, chemicals and pharmaceuticals sectors, has completed its previously announced acquisition of Ipackchem Group SAS, a leader in sustainability-oriented barrier packaging.

IPACKCHEM is a global supplier of specialised barrier packaging solutions that service the crop protection and specialty chemicals end markets.

The company, which last year was acquired by US private equity firm SK Capital, has plants in Europe, the UK, China, India, Brazil, and South Africa.

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ExxonMobil is gradually shutting down its 235,000 barrel per day (bpd) Fos-Sur-Mer refinery in France as a result of ongoing strike action, the company said in an emailed statement, as per Reuters.

Walkouts caused the gradual shut down of Exxon's 240,000 bpd Port Jerome-Gravenchon oil refinery and Notre Dame de Gravenchon (NDG) petrochemical site in France on Sept. 20 before spreading to Fos-Sur-Mer 24 hours later.

French unions CGT and Force Ouvriere called for a strike on Tuesday following wage negotiations with Exxon Mobil related to rising inflation in Europe.

"We are gradually shutting down the Gravenchon refinery and petrochemical plant and we have started preparations to gradually shut down the Fos refinery," an Exxon Mobil spokesperson said in the statement.

"This unfortunate situation may impact our customers, contractors, suppliers, and employees, and affects the international reputation of Exxon Mobil activities in France," the statement said.

We remind, PETRONAS Chemicals Group Berhad (PCG), the petrochemical arm of PETRONAS, and ExxonMobil have signed a memorandum of understanding to assess the potential for large-scale implementation of advanced plastic recycling technology to help create a circular economy for plastics in Malaysia.

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W. R. Grace & Co, the leading independent supplier of polyolefin catalyst and polypropylene (PP) technology, has licensed its UNIPOL PP technology to Red Sea National Petrochemicals Co., said the company.

As a leading force driving further development of the petrochemicals industry in Egypt, Red Sea Co is establishing a state-of-the-art, integrated refinery and petrochemicals complex to produce polyolefins, as well as PET polyester.

The UNIPOL PP technology plant will have the industry's largest single PP reactor line with the greatest KTA capacity to produce homopolymers and random copolymers.

W. R. Grace & Co, the leading independent supplier of polyolefin catalyst and polypropylene (PP) technology, has licensed its UNIPOL PP technology to Red Sea National Petrochemicals Co. As a leading force driving further development of the petrochemicals industry in Egypt, Red Sea Co is establishing a state-of-the-art, integrated refinery and petrochemicals complex to produce polyolefins, as well as PET polyester. The UNIPOL PP technology plant will have the industry's largest single PP reactor line with the greatest KTA capacity to produce homopolymers and random copolymers.

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Singapore's factory activity in September contracted for the first time in more than two years, as external demand continued to be weighed down by the impact of high inflation and interest rates hikes, said the company.

The Singapore purchasing managers' index (PMI) fell to 49.9 in September from 50.0 in August, falling below the 50.0 threshold for the first time since June 2020, data from the Singapore Institute of Purchasing and Materials Management (SIPMM) showed late on Monday.

A reading above 50.0 indicates overall expansion while a reading below that threshold indicates overall contraction in activity. The decline in overall factory activity was weighed down by the contraction in the electronics sector PMI.

The latter fell for the second straight month to 49.4 in September, after dipping into contraction in August for the first time since July 2020. Many of the sub-indices within the PMI report fell below 50.0 in September.

The index of new orders came in at 49.9 from 50.1 in August, the first sub-50 print since August 2020, while the production index inched further below 50.0 with a print of 49.8. The new exports index eased to 50.0 from 50.2 in August.

The other negatives came from the indices of inventory (49.8, from 49.6 in August), imports (49.6, from 49.8 in August) and notably, order backlog, which came in at 49.7 (from 50.1 in August), the first sub-50 print since June 2020, after more than two years of continuous expansion.

We remind, VSIP, a joint venture between Singapore's Sembcorp and Vietnam's Becamex, is planning to develop its second industrial park in Quang Ngai province next year. In a meeting with the central province's authorities this week, Kelvin Teo, CEO of the Singapore-based Sembcorp Development and co-chairman of VSIP Group, said they hoped to receive support from Quang Ngai for the new plan.

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